“Then why dismiss him, never mind leaving him with both horse and weapons?”
“We have but baited the trap, my lady.I doubt it will be long before it is sprung.”Quinn whistled to himself as he dressed, though Melissande stared at him for a long moment, the weight of the dagger in her hand.
“A trap?”she echoed.“God in Heaven, will you risk your own life to see Annossy rid of the brigands?”she whispered and he turned to survey her.
“Would you mourn my loss if I did?”he asked softly.
“Aye,” she admitted.“I would.”
“Well, then.That is something.”He nodded once and turned his back upon her, whistling once more.
He did not mean to confide in her.
That choice filled Melissande with new doubts.’Twas true Quinn had insisted she keep the blade and that he seduced her well abed, but on this day, he had also dismissed Annossy’s Captain of the Guard and the men he had hired, without consulting Melissande.She felt control of the holding slip away and did not like it a whit.
Melissande hastened from the bed, thinking this was no cause for merriment.She crossed the chamber and took his arm.“Tell me of your scheme.”
“What scheme, my lady?”Quinn asked lightly and she knew he would not share the details with her.Her heart chilled that he did not trust her fully.“My sole scheme is the defense of Annossy.”He turned then to confront her.“Are there any other ways into the keep, beyond the gates and the sewers?”
This time, it was Melissande who turned her back.If he would keep his secrets, then she would keep hers as well.“I do not know of any,” she said, keeping her tone even.“Perhaps Louis knows more.”
Perhaps she would have to defend Annossy’s solar against its new lord.
“Perhaps.I will ask him.”Then Quinn left the solar, still whistling, while Melissande stood and wondered whether she had erred.
Ten nightsafter the departure of Gaultier and his comrades, Annossy’s mill was attacked.
Quinn was more than ready.
The moon was new, the night darker than dark.He sat at the window of the solar, fully armed, well aware that Melissande watched him from the bed but did not sleep herself.Though they had worked together since his return from Tulley, and they were intimate each night, there was a barrier between them.
She had lied about ways in and out of the keep.
Quinn had guessed as much immediately, for her eyes revealed when she disguised the truth.His wife was not an accomplished liar, which he admired greatly—though it grieved him when she did mislead him.He had been disappointed to learn from Bayard shortly after leaving the solar that his impression had been correct.There was another way into the solar, designed to ensure that the lord could retake it after an assault, and it could even be reached from outside the walls, if one knew where to look for it.
Quinn was certain that Melissande did.
At its root, this was the same issue.She feared to trust him fully.She feared to lose her import at Annossy.Though Quinn understood her feelings, he could not do more to overcome her doubts than he had.He would prove himself in deeds, and could only hope that in time, when his lady’s worst fears did not come to fruition, it would prove to be sufficient.
The compromise did not content him, but the lady had to make her own choice.
In the short term, however, he had a holding to defend.
In a way, it was a relief when the flame appeared in the distance.It flared orange, and flickered as Quinn rose to his feet.He could have no doubt of its import, though, for the fire raged higher as the wood caught and cast sparks into the sky.Niall and Lothair would already be fighting the brigands.
Quinn did not waste a moment.He spun from the window and strode for the stairs.“I shall return when I can, my lady.”
Melissande rose from the bed and seized his sleeve.“You cannot mean to ride out yourself!I thought you would send your comrades and defend Annossy yourself.”
“I ride with my comrades.”Quinn chafed at the delay, though he could not be rude to her.He did not wish to spoil an accord that he feared was fragile.“The defense of all of Annossy is my responsibility.”
“But you could be injured!”
“I have been injured before and lived to tell of it.”He tugged his sleeve free of her grasp.
“But you could be killed,” she said with a distress that appeared genuine.“Send another in your stead, Quinn!”
Her use of his name was like a blow to the heart, but Quinn knew what had to be done.“I gave my word to the miller that I would defend his abode as my own,” he insisted with heat and turned away.
